DVD Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

The intrepid treasure hunters from National Treasure are back for a second adventure. But this time it's not just treasure that is at stake. This time, the Gates family must clear their family name just as they were starting to receive respect in the academic community.

The film opens on April 14, 1865. The Civil War has just ended. Two men walk into a saloon to meet a man who can help them solve a puzzle: a playfair cipher that provides a clue that leads to Cibola, the lost city of gold. The man is Thomas Gates, the great, great grandfather of legendary treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage). Thomas Gates quickly discovers that the men who approached him were members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret society that wanted to continue the efforts of the South to secede from the Union. Gates quickly burns the pages that were given to him and ultimately is killed for it.

Fast forward to present day where Ben Gates and his father, Patrick (Jon Voight), are giving a lecture on the diary of John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assasain. At the end of the lecture, Mitch Wilkerson (Ed Harris), comes forward with what he claims is a portion of one of the missing pages of the diary. The page, Wilkerson contends, lists Thomas Gates as one of Booth's co-conspirator's in the assasaination.

In order to clear the Gates' family name, Ben and Patrick must solve the clues to prove that the story of the Knights of the Golden Circle seeking Cibola is true. The clues eventually lead them to the Book of Secrets which is a book written by Presidents for Presidents which contain all of the nation's most closely guarded secrets. To get to the book, Ben Gates must get to the President. His grand plan: kidnap the President and hope that he will be allowed to see the book.

Like the first installment in the series, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets intersperses history into the story. The writers go to great lengths to incorporate numerous facts into the narrative which adds to the credibility of the story.

The other remarkable thing about these movies that in an age where it's easy to generate locations through computer animation the producers insist on filming at actual locations as much as possible. This is a much bigger film than its predecessor in part because of the locations used in the film: Paris, London, Washington, D. C., the Librayr of Congress, and Mount Rushmore. One of the most exciting parts of the film is a car chase actually filmed on the streets of London.

In addition, all of the principal characters from the first movie, both in front of and behind the camera, are back in this movie. The on-screen chemistry is evident throughout the film.
There are also a couple of notable additions to the cast. Ed Harris makes a terrific villian in Mitch Wilkerson. Bruce Greenwood makes a terrific and thoroughly believable President of the United States. But the best addition is Helen Mirren as Emily Appleton, Patrick Gates' ex-wife and Ben Gates' mother. The chemistry between her and Jon Voight is wonderful and it's thoroughly believable that they were married.

Disney has, as with earlier titles, offered a 2-disc collectors' edition that offers additional bonus features not available on the single disc. It's absolutely worth the extra money to purchase the 2-disc edition as the wealth of bonus featurettes add to the enjoyment of the movie. In the featurettes we learn how different aspects of the film were completed including the extensive City of Gold sequences as well as the aforementioned London car chase.

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets does a terrific job of picking up where National Treasure left off providing another exciting bit of cinematic escapism. In many respects, National Treasure 2 is a bigger adventure with more exciting locales than the first film. Watching the movie again made me hope that we haven't seen the last of the Gates family adventures. These movies may be the best movies ever made but they are certainly are a good way to spend a couple of hours. Let's hope that there are more of these films to be made.

This article originally appeared at Blogcritics.

Baseball Quote of the Week

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.

~ Ted Williams

Quick Takes - 5-23-08

A few random links for your consideration:

What will be the fallout from the recent same-sex marriage ruling in California? I'm not sure whether the state will go red but the Supreme Court sure made the job of California Republicans a lot easier. Related link: Rick Santorum doesn't regret sounding the alarm on marriage in '03. Also, Senator Obama still hasn't figured out how to win votes in the heartland.

I had been meaning to post a review of Prince Caspian (we saw it last weekend), but this review sums up my thoughts about the movie much better than I could.

Memo to Maxine Waters: the word you are looking for is nationalize, a la Hugo Chavez. Pretty scary stuff.

This is no surprise: a Texas court ruled that the state had no right to remove 400 children from a polygamist cult's compound. Once the dust settles and the courts figure out what to do with all the kids, expect numerous lawsuits to be filed against the state.

Instant replay in baseball? Say it ain't so!

VP Sweeps: the candidates begin looking at possible running mates. I'd be willing to get Obama doesn't offer Hillary the spot no matter how hard she tries to muscle her way onto the ticket.

Finding hope in the aftermath of natural disasters. And tragic events. Our prayers go out to those affected by these recent events.

Finally, a reminder of what we celebrate this weekend. Here's one way to support the troops.

Have a great weekend.

Not Ready For Prime Time?

I'm not a fan of Barack Obama and certainly don't intend to vote for him in November. But I can't help admire him for what he has been able to achieve: to rise from political obscurity to becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to (quite possibly) the next President of the United States in just a little over a year. That is a remarkable achievement for any candidate. Yet I keep getting the feeling that despite all that the Senator has achieved, he is not ready to be President.

Yesterday, the Senator lashed out at the Tennessee GOP for posting a video that criticized his wife, Michelle Obama, for saying "For the first timein my adult life, I am really proud of my country." The Senator said to them, "Lay off my wife" in a television interview.

As a husband, I understand that you're first impulse is to protect and defend your wife when she is criticized. I respect him for his desire to protect Michelle. But implied in his response is that his wife is "off limits" and that it would be wrong for anyone to criticize her.

Traditionally, political spouses have remained in the background in campaigns. If they came out to make a speech, it would usually be no more than simply encouraging people to vote for their significant other. That political dynamic changed in 1992 with Bill Clinton's first campaign for the White House. By voting for him, voters were told that they were getting "two presidents for the price of one" and that Hillary would be as central a figure in a Clinton administration as Bill would. We certainly saw this when Bill appointed Hillary as head of his health care task force in 1993.

When politicians' spouses start making political statements such as the one Michelle Obama did when she said that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of her country, they insert themselves into the campaign and become fair game for criticism. Theresa Heinz Kerry learned this lesson the hard way in 2004 when she said that Laura Bush had never held a real job.

Senator Obama is a very gifted politician and perhaps one of the most talented to come along in a long time. His meteoric rise has been due not only to his extensive skills but also to a fawning media that has been willing to give him a pass on tough questions. As a result, the Senator seems to have become used to being treated with kid gloves on the campaign trail. His reaction yesterday to criticism of his wife gives further evidence that he is perhaps a little too thin-skinned to be President. After all, if you want to be elected to the toughest job in the world, you need to be prepared to deal with the criticism that comes with it.

Two Different Candidates With The Same Problem

2008 is shaping up to be an odd election season. For the first time in recent memory, both parties' nominees for President will have secured their nominations without winning an overwhelming majority of their respective parties' votes. Both Barack Obama and John McCain will have a lot of work ahead of them to unite their parties. But they also share another similarity: both of them may need to select a running mate more conservative than they are in order to win the election.

According to National Journal, Barack Obama is the most liberal member of the U. S. Senate. As last week's resounding defeat in the West Virginia primary showed, Obama is weak among values voters and middle-class workers. He's also had trouble winning votes among women. In order to win over the center and right of his party as well as appeal to independents, he would be well advised to select someone more conservative than he is. Obama's inexperience will also be a liability and so he may want to look for someone with more experience. Of course, he can't rule out the possibilty of selecting a woman as his running mate to help his appeal among women.

Meanwhile, John McCain has his own set of problems. Throughout the primaries, more conservative members of the Republican party gravitated towards Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Fred Thompson. McCain has long been perceived as having too much of an independent streak to suit Republicans. His age also becomes an issue. So picking someone who is younger and more conservative would be a wise move for McCain.

While the Vice-Presidential nominee normally doesn't add much to the ticket, 2008 could prove to be an exception to that rule. With both parties' nominees carrying significant weaknesses into the fall campaign, the choice of running mate could be the most critical decision these two candidates make during this election season.

Baseball Quote of the Week

I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don't think about it is when I'm playing it.


- Carl Yastrzemski

Appeasers and Activists

Yesterday was a big news day with two unrelated events occurring that will each have an impact on this fall's elections. While on the surface the two may seem unrelated both spell trouble for Democrats.

President Bush, speaking at The Knesset in Israel, used the opportunity to launch an unmerited attack against Senator Barack Obama. At least, that's what Senator Obama, aided and abetted by the left-leaning media, would like voters to believe. Here's the paragraph that got Democrats' collective undies in a bunch from the transcript of the speech:

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals,
as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.
We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in
1939, an American senator declared: "Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided." We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

The truth hurts, doesn't it? The reason there was such wailing and gnashing of teeth among Democrats yesterday is because President Bush made it clear that he thinks they are appeasers of terrorists, which of course, they are. Senator Obama didn't help himself by making such a big stink about it, either. Trying to refute the charge that he's an appeaser merely reinforces the idea in the mind of the voters.

The second event was the decision yesterday by the activist judges of the California Supreme Court to overturn the ban on gay marriage that was enacted by voters back in 2000. A move is already afoot to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in California in November and supporters shouldn't have any problem getting the required signatures.

While most Democrats no doubt applaud the court's decision they surely must hate the timing. This will put traditional values back in play as an issue in the election and the decision will no doubt motivate Republicans and other values-voters to turn out in huge numbers both in California and elsewhere.

All of this, combined with the continuing bloodbath that is the Democratic nomination process, means that November is looking better for Republicans every day.

Podcast: Interview with Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn

I had the privilege to chat with Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn, founders of Christian Logic and authors of The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox. Nathaniel also just published Hand That Rocks The Cradle: 400 Classic Books For Children (which I reviewed here). We covered a wide variety of topics and I hope you will find the interview enjoyable. Click here to listen.

Baseball Quote of the Week

Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.


~George F. Will, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball

New Review Posted At Blogcritics

Check out my latest review at Blogcritics on the new version of Sense and Sensibility now available on DVD.

Seeking Balance

Author's note: This is a post from November 2004. As I was glancing over it I realized how much I still need to learn now what I was struggling with then.


A few years ago, I subscribed to a wonderful magazine (now defunct, unfortunately) called Life@Work Journal. The magazine was a Christian publication geared towards believers in the marketplace. Each issue would focus on a particular subject. One of the most memorable issues was the issue on balance.


In an article entitled "Juggling Life" (Life@Work Journal, November/December 2000), authors Thomas Addington and Steven Graves contend that we operate on an incorrect definition of balance based on ranking priorities of God, family, church, work and leisure. They contend that "balance is the ability to continually recognize and juggle the multidimensional assignments and opportunities of life". When we feel overwhelmed or stressed out because there isn't enough time to do everything on our "to do list" it's because our life is out of balance.


They go on to explain that balance is not a static issue. In other words, it is something we have to constantly strive towards. We also cannot do it alone as we each have blind spots that prevent us from seeing the total picture. As a result, we need accountability from family, friends, business associates, fellow church members, and others to help us see where we are out of balance.


They also contend that each individual has five multidimensions of life: family, community, church, work, and self. Each of these dimensions competes for our attention and energy. These are the balls that we have to juggle. Within each of these dimensions are assignments and opportunities.


An assignment is "something that we have no control over or that we cannot say no to without violating a Scriptural command or principle". For example, I am a father and husband. I'm also the breadwinner for my family. As a believer, I also must be involved in a church. These are all assignments that I have been given. Assignments are not necessarily the same for every person. Opportunities, on the other hand, are optional items. They are things that I can choose to do or not to do. Sometimes an opportunity can help someone fufill an assignment. For example, if I go to a parenting conference it should help me be a better father. However, an opportunity can become a problem if it interferes with my ability to fufill my assignments. A good example would be spending so much time watching football on television that it takes away time I should be spending with my family. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I don't spend much time watching sports anymore is because it takes too much time away from my wife and children.


When my wife and I were first married we moved to suburban Chicago. While we were there I got involved in a golf league with some of the guys at work. At least every other Saturday (and sometimes more often) I would be off playing golf with the guys at work and leaving my wife at home alone. Although it was a great opportunity, my marriage suffered because I was not devoting time to my wife and our marriage the way that I should have.


Juggling assignments and opportunities is not easy. It requires constantly evaluating where time and energy are being spent. It also takes a willingness to sacrifice my own desires in order to meet the needs of my family.


My wife once did this in a very practical way by taking Post-It notes and putting up on the closet doors everything she was doing. She started by putting every one of those notes on the left side of the doors. Then she would move the notes over to the right that represented the opportunities she was involved in. Once she was finished she realized she was involved in far too many opportunities and it was interfering with her assignments as a wife and mother. After praying over those opportunities for a number of days she decided to make some changes.


The bottom line is this: in order to keep our lives in balance we must first grasp what assignments God has given us. Then each activity we are involved in needs to be examined closely. We should be asking ourselves whether the opportunities we are pursuing are interfering with our assignments. If an opportunity is keeping us from completing our assignments then it's an opportunity we don't need to pursue.

Baseball Quote of the Week

I see great things in baseball. It's our game -- the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism, tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.

- Walt Whitman

Baseball Road Trip: Fenway Park

PORTSMOUTH, NH - I've been up here the last couple of days on a business trip but last night afforded me a wonderful opportunity: to see my first game at Fenway Park in Boston. If I wasn't such a devoted Cubs fan, I would have become a Red Sox fan after their dramatic win last night. Wrigley Field is still my favorite ballpark I've ever visited but Fenway is a very, very close second.


When we left Portsmouth yesterday to make the hour drive to Boston I wasn't sure we had a chance to see the game. It had rained continuously here for three days. In fact, it was pouring rain until we got to Boston. The closer we got to Fenway, the more the rain tapered off. An on-time start looked more and more likely. We had no idea what we were in for once we got to the park.


Before I elaborate on last night's drama let me just say this: if you are a baseball fan you really need to see a game at Fenway if at all possible. It's worth whatever you have to spend to get there. It is a unique park and one that every fan should experience.


The Red Sox ownership has wisely decided to close off Yawkey Way prior to each game to allow a place for vendors to sell their wares prior to the game. It adds to the wonderful atmosphere of the park.


When you first walk in through the gate you're immediately confronted with the age of the park. The place looks and feels old. It's crowded. It's clear that it is showing it's age. But once you walk through the tunnel to your seats it's a whole different feeling. Looking out on the field you realize that you are about to step into a park steeped with history. The Green Monster looms larger in person than it does on television. The park is also a whole lot smaller in person than on television. The quirks of the outfield are much more obvious and far more charming.


We were fortunate that our seats were at field level just 10 rows away from the action. From our vantage point just to the first base side of home plate we got a terrific view of the pitches that you don't get watching games on television. Watching a game from the centerfield camera vantage point you really don't appreciate how hard major league pitchers throw or far a curveball actually curves. I know baseball has been rocked by steroids allegations in recent years but after seeing this game I have a whole new appreciation for anyone who can make contact with major league pitching on a regular basis. It's just not that easy.


When my friend called to say that we had tickets to the game and the opponent was going to be the Toronto Blue Jays I thought this is not an ideal matchup. I was figuring it would be an easy win for the Sox. I couldn't have been more wrong.


Jon Lester started for the Sox and immediately showed that he was going to be tough to hit. In fact, he allowed only one hit over eight innings. Maybe Lester knew he was going to have to step up and pitch a fabulous game to beat Toronto starter Roy Halladay. Halladay's complete game performance was his fourth consecutive nine-inning start. Anyone who follows baseball knows how rare one complete game is much less four in a row.


For eight innings it was a duel of two terrific starting pitchers. In the top of the ninth, the Sox brought in their stopper Jonathan Papelbon to shut down the Blue Jays. Except for a two-out double he surrendered to Scott Rolen, he was perfect striking out three. Remember what I said about how hard pitchers throw? Watching Papelbon pitch I realized that everything that has been said about how great a pitcher he is was absolutely true. He throws extremely hard and is even more formidable than he appears on television.


But it wasn't just about pitching last night. There were also a number of great defensive plays as well including Dustin Pedroia's diving stop in the top of the ninth on a Vernon Wells ground ball that would have scored Scott Rolen and given the Blue Jays the lead.


Then it was the Red Sox turn to try to put it away. The top of the order came to bat and if you tried to script a Red Sox win you couldn't have written the story any better. Coco Crisp and Dustin Pedroia were both retired quickly. Then David Ortiz who is Mr. Clutch Hitter (he's had 16 game winning hits in his career) came to bat. The crowd was expecting a big hit from Ortiz. He did crush one ball down the right field line that was only a few feet away from being a game winning home run. Still, Ortiz managed to draw a walk and that brought up Manny Ramirez. Ramirez has been on a home run chase of his own. As the banners above the Green Monster told everyone, Manny was sitting on 496 career home runs. Would Manny be the big hero? He managed to single advancing Ortiz to second and bringing up another fan favorite, first baseman Kevin Youklis. It was Youklis who would be the big hero as he also singled to drive in Ortiz and win the game for the Sox. It was an incredible finish to a fantastic game.


Last night was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Don't be surprised if these Red Sox are back in the World Series this year. Last night they showed that they have the stuff to win the tough games. I don't think anyone could have asked for a better game. Anyone who loves baseball should make the trip to Fenway. It's worth it.

Baseball Quote of the Week

Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs. That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine. And that's really living.


~ Alvin Dark, Chicago Cubs third baseman, 1958-59

Quick Takes 4-25-08

It's Friday and time for another roundup of random links for your consideration:

Some startling statistics that show the consequences of couples living together prior to getting married. It doesn't always work out as well as the couples think that it will. (Hat tip: Jonathan)

Blog tip of the week: How to link to other blogs.

Some sage advice on how to raise chaste teenagers in a sexually immoral society.

Could this year's election mark the end of the two-party system as we know it? Probably not, but both parties could look much different after November.

Nashville highlight #1: Earlier this week I made my semi-annual jaunt to Music City. I stopped off at this used book store which has quickly become a favorite. It's not in the best part of town but definitely worth the trip. The Knoxville store is also pretty good and a little bit easier to get to off the interstate. I've now got about three dozen books sitting on the shelf "to be read". I really should stop picking up books but when they're free or almost free (trade credit is wonderful), how can you resist?

Nashville highlight #2: The other treat in going to Nashville is the abundance of great dining options. Our big trip out was to The Loveless Cafe which is a Nashville institution even though it's outside of the city a little ways. The fried chicken, country ham, and fried catfish were all terrific. The biscuits, however, left a little to be desired. Maybe I'm just biased because I think my wife's biscuits are better.

Some thoughts on a troubling aspect of the Texas polygamist compound case. When the story first broke, I wondered whether the child protective services agency had overreacted. Now I'm sure of it. Though I don't support the FLDS and what they stand for, I agree they are entitled to protection under the Constitution.

Hillary Clinton's win in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary did nothing to stop the Democratic bleeding. It's looking more and more like John McCain will win in November regardless of who his opponent is.

What it really means when you say you're a Protestant.

This means I might have to start watching CNN more often. (Hat tip: The Corner)

One of the interesting aspects of the Democratic nomination battle between Senators Clinton and Obama is how much better the Republican nominating system looks by comparison. Having winner-take -all apportioning of delegates seems to make more and more sense. Maybe folks will finally realize that we shouldn't tinker with the Electoral College, either.

I'm disturbed, too. I thought Newt was supposed to be a smart guy. Now I'm not so sure. Seeing Pat and Al together in the other spot didn't make me feel any better.

Have a great weekend.

Developing a Christian Impact on Society

Author's note: I've been travelling this week and haven't had as much time as I would like to devote to posting new material so I am recycling this post from December 2004.

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These are my notes from a lecture delivered by Dr. John Stott on November 4, 1986 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill entitled "Developing a Christian Impact on Society". For more on Dr. John Stott, see this post.

What values or standards are going to dominate our national culture? Most countries are increasingly pluralistic. It means that many things are competing for the soul of America. It's partly an evangelistic question but it's also a social and cultural question. Do Christians have a social as well as evangelistic responsibility in the community?

Look at Matthew 5:13-16:

13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Salt was used as an antiseptic and a preservative in Jesus' day. Jesus meant at least four things by these models:

1. Christians are radically different from non-Christians.
Jesus contrasted Christians to the rest of the world. We are to be the light for a dark world and the salt for a decaying world. We are called to be radically different from the rest of the world.

2. Christians are to penetrate non-Christian society.
Though morally distinct we shouldn't segregate ourselves from society. Jesus commands us to let our light shine into the world. The salt can't do any good unless it is rubbed or soaked into the meat. The application of this is what Christians decide to do for a career. Ministry is a generic word and does not merely refer to the pastorate. Through whatever career we choose we can be a minister for Christ. There is a wide variety of ministry.

3. Christians can change non-Christian society.
When you switch on a light a room is no longer dark. When you rub salt into meat bacterial decay stops. If society becomes corrupt society is not to blame because that's what happens when fallen men are left to themselves. We have to ask, "Where is the church?" We also must accept the role Christ has given us to be salt and light. Society cannot be perfected but it can be improved.

How does social change take pkace and how can Christians make an impact? One way is prayer. Prayer is an effective weapon in asking for help for our national leaders. The second weapon is evangelism. We have to be socially active Christians and that's not possible without evangelism. The third weapon is example. Humans are very imitative. A good example can have an enormous effect on society. The fourth is argument. Legislation can reduce evil in our social structure. We have to get into the public debate and argue the goodness of God's law. The fifth weapon is action. We need to be willing to take action.

4. Christians must retain their Christian distinctiveness.
Salt is no good if it loses its saltiness. If light loses its brightness it is no good. We must retain our Christian standards, values, and lifestyles without compromise. The differences are listed in the Sermon on the Mount.

Christ calls to the narrow road of life as opposed to the wide road of death. We must repent of our compromises and ask Christ to be Lord of all of our life. We also must repent from our pessimism. We don't have any reason to be pessimistic. We need to be salt and light so that people can see Christ in us through our good works.

Baseball Quote of the Week

There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.


- Joe DiMaggio

Is Our Gospel Too Big?

Marshall Shelley, editor of Leadership Magazine, shares some observations from this week's Together For The Gospel conference. He focuses on Mark Dever's address on evangelism that raises some questions work considering.



Also, Justin Taylor links to the audio streams from the conference.

Looking for Loved Stories

Lori Smith, author of the wonderful book A Walk With Jane Austen, is looking for stories for a new book project she is working on. Check out the details at this post and if you have a story to add, let her know.

By the way, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lori recently and will be posting about our conversation and her wonderful book soon.

Developing a Christian Mind

Author's note: I'm in the midst of several writing projects at the moment so I'm taking the liberty of recycling this post from December 2004. We were discussing the issue of developing a biblical worldview following our Sunday morning worship this past week and this post came to mind.

*******************************************************************************

The following is my notes from a lecture given by Dr. John Stott entitled "Developing the Christian Mind" presented on November 3, 1986 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. See my previous post for more on Dr. John Stott.

Key verse: Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. (1 Corinthians 14:20)

The mind is important because the use of our mind is glorifying to God. He is a rational God, has made us rational and has given us a rational revealing about Himself. We ought to approach Him rationally.

A proper use of the mind enriches our Christian life (in particular our discipleship). We cannot worship God worthily without using our minds. See Psalm 105 - To worship is to glory in God's holy name.

A proper use of the mind strengthens our witness. The apostles reasoned with people over the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit brings people to conversion because of the evidence when He has opened their mind to it.

A Christian mind is the mind of a Christian. It could also be defined as the mind of Christ. A Christian mind has a Christian mindset or a Christian perspective on things. A Christian mind is searching for the will of God.

The Christian mind focuses on two things: the reality of God and the paradox of man made in the image of God. The Christian mind is a godly mind and God is in all his thoughts. There are two implications of this. The first of these is the definition of wisdom. The Christian mind gives meaning to life. The second of these is humbleness. Since God is in the mind then it should be humble. The Christian mind is a godly mind and refuses to honor anything that is not glorifying to God.

The second focus is the paradox of man made in the image of God. The paradox is we have dignity and depravity. We are able in one moment ot be like God and in the rest turn around and be as unlike God as any human can be.

How do we apply the paradox? One of these ways is the self-image. We need to have an accurate self-image. Developing a balanced self-image requires remembering who we are and who created us. Another application is dealing with political ideology. It is unwise to try to support one political system and say it is the absolute right ideology. Christians exist on all parts of the political spectrum.

We want to be a Christian who is integrated. All parts of the body are intergrated into the lordship of Christ. We need a heart that feels deeply with a mind that thinks clearly. A mind without a heart is nothing.

Baseball Quote of the Week

One of the greatest speeches ever written about baseball from the movie Field of Dreams:

Getting Ahead of God

Author's note: This is a post I originally wrote in January 2005. I'm recycling it because the message is worth examining again.

In a previous post, I included this valuable piece of advice from Tod Bolsinger:

"Don't just do something, stand there."

This statement got me thinking about how easy it is to get ahead of where God wants us to be. In other words, we are so busy pursuing our own agenda that we don't seek what God wants for us first. Recall Jesus' command in Matthew 6:33:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well."

Therefore, our first priority in everything is to seek God's desires. So often we fail to do that and often with devastating results.

Perhaps on of the most vivid examples I can recall of getting ahead of God in my own life was right after I graduated from college. All of my friends had gone their separate ways after graduation and I quickly lost contact with them. I was floundering in my career and was not doing much better in my walk with Christ, either. I was dating someone at the time and that did ease my loneliness to some degree. But it was not the type of relationship that God wanted for me. Of course, I didn't come to that conclusion on my own. One of my former housemates, Jeff Johnston had come into town and we talked at some length about this relationship I was involved in and the problems I had with it. He helped put my situation in perspective by telling me that I was "snacking on poundcake" and then proceeded to share the following illustration:

Imagine that a woman has invited you over to your apartment for dinner. When you arrive, there is a poundcake sitting on the coffee table. She is in the kitchen fixing dinner. You can smell the dinner and it smells good. You are hungry. You also see the poundcake and it looks good. You want the poundcake. If you eat the poundcake you will not have any appetite for the dinner. If you eat the poundcake you miss out on the blessing of the dinner.

I was getting ahead of God's plan for me. I was missing out on the "dinner" that God had in store for me. Just a few short months after Jeff challenged me with that illustration I was in a new city, in a new job, and met the wonderful woman who would become my wife and mother of my two beautiful children.

Sometimes getting ahead of God's plan doesn't just mean missing out on the "dinner". Sometimes our choices have dire consequences. One of the best examples of this that the Bible offers is Abraham. God promised to make a great nation from his offspring (Genesis 12:2-3), specifically promised his offspring land (Genesis 12:7) and that his offspring would be of greater number than the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). There was just one small problem: his wife, Sarah, could not have children (Genesis 16:1-2). Rather than relying on God to fufill his promises, Abraham (with encouragement from Sarah) come up with another plan: Abraham would sleep with their maidservant, Hagar. Their plan worked. Hagar became pregnant (Genesis 16:3-4). Rather than being a blessing, the son that was born to Hagar, Ishmael was father of the tribes that eventually became known as the Arab nations that were and are still enemies of Israel.

The challenge to "Don't just do something, stand there" is a difficult one. It requires a different mindset. The world teaches us to rely on our own wisdom, our own knowledge, and our own reasoning. We are to be self-reliant. But the apostle Paul reminds us:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

Rather than reacting reflexively to whatever comes our way, we should follow the advice of Brother Lawrence:

"We ought to give ourselves up to God with regard both to things temporal and spiritual and seek our satisfaction only in the fulfilling of His will."

What's Ailing The Church

Chuck Colson, speaking yesterday at the 19th Annual National Conference on Preaching, hits the nail on the head in describing what's wrong with the churches today: they don't know what they believe. (Hat tip: WorldMagBlog)

“Of course we care about the world. Of course we care about everything happening in society, including politics, but we better get our own house in order because what we see in the cultural collapse of America around us today and in the Western world is exactly on our doorstep,” argued Colson, who was a top aide to former President Richard Nixon before being jailed for the Watergate scandal.

Colson believes the root of the church’s problem is that Christians don’t know what they believe in.

“I think that is at the heart of the problem of the church – we replaced truth with therapy,” he said.

“Most people are basically ignorant,” he said referring to believers’ lack of knowledge on their own religion.

It's time for churches to return to the Bible, examining it, understanding what it says and how each of us need to apply it. As Colson remarked at the conclusion of his speech:

“We cannot defend our faith nor can we live it if we don’t know what it is,”
Colson concluded.

Interview: Mark Frost, Author of The Match: The Day The Game Of Golf Changed Forever

Mark Frost has had a long and successful career as a novelist and screenwriter. Among his best-known creations are Twin Peaks (which he co-created with David Lynch) and Fantastic Four. But he's also a golfer and his love of the game has led him to write about the sport.

Hearing the story of Francis Ouimet during coverage of the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts (the same course where Ouimet beat the odds and won the Open) led Mr. Frost to write The Greatest Game Ever Played which he would later adapt for the screen. The success of that book led to The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf, which documents the career of perhaps the greatest amateur to ever play the game. In his latest book, The Match: The Day The Game of Golf Changed Forever, he has managed to document yet another pivotal moment in the history of the game.

"The game had always proceeded along two parallel tracks: the amateurs who were the gentleman players who played for the love of the game and not to make a living; and the pros who for the most part worked at golf clubs, who made golf clubs, gave lessons, and who kind of scratched out a living from the game," said Mr. Frost in a recent interview.

Click here to listen to the interview with Mark Frost.

The match started out as nothing more than a simple wager. Eddie Lowery, the self-made millionaire who got his start in golf as the 10 year old caddie for Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U. S. Open, had been on the lookout for the next great amateur. He would routinely hire golfers to work in his car dealerships as salesmen and help them pursue a career in golf. In 1956, when the match takes place, he has working for him two of the best amateurs of the day: Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. While at Pebble Beach for the 1956 Crosby Pro-Am he makes a boast that Venturi and Ward can beat any other pair of golfers in a best-ball match. When fellow millionaire George Coleman asks if Lowery's golfers are wiling to play professionals Lowery says yes. Coleman then goes and gets two of the greatest pros of the day to play: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. Thus the stage is set for a golf match like no other that had ever been played up to that point or since.

"As you zero in on this day in 1956 when they play (two young amateurs against two seasoned professionals) the 'who is going to become the dominant force in the game' is still up for grabs," said Mr. Frost. "the fact that in the immediate aftermath that both Venturi and Ward nearly win The Masters in separate years, I think, gives some weight to that argument that, yes, even as late as this game occured in 1956, there were still amateurs around who could play with the greatest pros in the world, play them toe-to-toe, and beat them if necessary."

In 1956, the PGA Tour was not nearly as lucrative as it is for today's professionals, as Mr. Frost was quick to point out.

"The PGA Tour struggled through those years as a way to make a bare-bones living for club pros. I foung that it was through the hard work and persistence of people like Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan that the Tour became anything it all. It really wouldn't have had they not been such extraordinary personalities in their own right."

It is the personalities of all four of the participants that really makes up the heart and soul of the book. The golf action is, in and of itself, compelling drama but it's the players and their connections to one another that really propel the story. But as the title suggests, this match, though not well-publicized until now, marked a watershed event in the history of the game.

"Now what's about to happen in the aftermath of this day in '56 is two things: the advent of televised sports coverage and golf in particular which is going to bring a whole new level of interest to the game; and the arrival of the extremely charismatic Arnold Palmer who we now know is the king of the sport," said Mr. Frost. "When he arrived he had a very Tiger Woods-like impact on the middle clas interest in the game around the country. He galvanized people and brought them to the game like no one since [Bobby] Jones and suddenly the pro game no only became a viable way to make a living but a way to make a killing. Very soon thereafter there was no percentage at all for a gifted player like a Jack Nicklaus who was about to come along (who briefly flirted with the idea of staying an amateur) to resist the temptation to turn pro and to embrace all the financial opportunities that were to come their way."

Part of what made this match possible, in addition to the pro vs. amateur tension and lack of 24/7 sports coverage, was the Crosby Pro-Am itself, a golf tournament like no other in history.


"There was something kind of magical about that event," said Mr. Frost. "It was the first professional/amateur event in any sport, really, and golf is the only sport where you could stage something like this where because of the handicap system guys can play on an equal playing field more or less. The Crosby was a unique blend of these entertainment personalities who loved the game of golf and played with various degrees of skill and the top professionals who, through [Bing] Crosby, having a foot in either world. were able to rub shoulders with movie stars and titans of industry and for a week all those names and ranks and considerations were forgotten and everybody was thrown out on the golf course to compete. Apparently it was more fun that humans should be allowed to have."

"Over time, as Crosby stepped back from it and it became a corporate event it became less and less about the fun of the week and the camaradarie and just embracing the joy of playing this game and it became about television and getting Bill Murray to do something funny, promoting CBS' sitcom stars. The magic of the event has sort of faded over time as well and that is something I also wanted to try to recapture because it is a unique chapter in the history of American sport."

No one could have done any better than Mr. Frost in not only capturing the atmosphere of the event, the incredible action of the match itself, and the portraits of four of the greatest players the sport has ever known. Much more than a history of one of the most amazing matches ever played, The Match is a wonderful history of a turning point in the history of golf as it is on the cusp of becoming a major part of not only sports but American culture.


This article originally appeared at Blogcritics.

A Goat No More

The Boston Red Sox held their first home game yesterday at Fenway Park with a ceremony honoring the 2007 World Champions. Among those in attendance were many legendary Boston sports figures and one who had up until now been considered something less than a hero: Bill Buckner. (Hat tip: WorldMagBlog)

The year was 1986. Game Six of the World Series against the New York Mets. It's still considered one of the classic World Series games ever played. In the bottom of the 10th inning at Shea Stadium the Red Sox lead the series three games to two and were ahead 5-3. The Mets managed to score a run and had the two on with two out when Mookie Wilson came to bat. A wild pitch scored the tying run. Then Wilson hit a ground ball down the first base line towards Buckner. The ball rolled between Buckner's legs and allowed the winning run to score. The Mets would then go on to win the Series in Game 7 the next day.

For years Buckner was blamed for losing the Series. But yesterday Boston fans displayed their forgiveness by honoring Buckner with a four minute standing ovation yesterday before the game. Buckner told the New York Times that returning to Fenway was not easy:

“It was hard for me to do,” a teary-eyed Buckner said about returning to Fenway.

When the Red Sox first invited Buckner, he said he figured he would decline. But he said he prayed about it and decided to accept. Two titles in the past four years for Boston have lessened the sting of what happened in 1986.

“I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston per se, but I’d have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media for what they put my family through,” Buckner said.

Hats off to Bill Buckner and the Boston Red Sox fans for giving us a wonderful picture of what forgiveness looks like.

Book Review: Hand That Rocks The Cradle by Nathaniel Bluedorn

Our family loves to read. Since my kids were young I have read aloud to them as well as encouraged them to read independently. When we travel, we always pass the time listening to our favorite audiobooks. So it's safe to say that books are an integral part of our family life.

This is exactly why we were so excited to get the brand new book Hand That Rocks The Cradle: 400 Classic Books for Children by Nathaniel Bluedorn. In this slender volume is a concise reference of the best books to read together as a family or for your children to read independently. Each entry includes a brief summary of the book, the time period in which the story takes place, geographic setting of the story, publication date, and the reading level. There is also a topical index in the back that makes it easier to identify books on various subjects. In addition, the book has been cleverly shaped to make it an easy reference tool to carry to the bookstore or library when looking for new books.

Most of the selections listed tend to be older books. Mr. Bluedorn states in the introduction that his family is more conservative and so the selections tend to reflect their preferences. However, he has also included a few more recent books that may come as a surprise to a few readers.

When the book first arrived in our mailbox, my youngest daughter, who is 10 years old, immediately started going through to see what books she had read were included on the list. On her very next trip to the library she started checking out books that she had seen listed in this book.

These days finding suitable books to either read to children or to let them read on their own has increasingly become a challenge. With this book, Mr. Bluedorn (and his parents, too) have done a tremendous service to families everywhere. Homeschool families will also particularly benefit from this book as it will make selecting appropriate books to incorporate in their curriculum a much easier task. I highly recommend Hand That Rocks The Cradle as it is one of the best resources I've discovered in quite a while.

Baseball Quote of the Week

"Whoever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?"

Chicago Cubs first baseman/manager Frank Chance on the eve of the replay of the Merkle game against the New York Giants that would decide the 1908 National League pennant. The Cubs defeated the Giants 4-2 and then went on to easily defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Ironically, this would be the last time that Chance's observation could be made about a Cubs team. They haven't won a World Series title since 1908.

The War on Fathers

Dr. Albert Mohler has an interview posted today with Dr. Stephen Baskerville, author of Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fatherhood, Marriage, and the Family. Be sure to check it out.

A Solution for Democrats?

Richard Bond, writing at Opinionjournal.com, presents an intriguing solution to the Democrats' presidential primary problem: name Hillary Clinton as Senate Majority Leader. For this to work two unlikely events would have to occur: Harry Reid would have to step aside and Mrs. Clinton would have to abandon her futile attempt to secure the Democratic nomination, be willing to accept the position and bide her time until 2012 to try to run again.

Rather than doing what's best for her party, Mrs. Clinton continues to help Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. No matter how appealing Mr. Bond's idea might seem it's still not likely to happen.

DVD Review: Enchanted

When it comes to fairy tales, no movie studio does them better than Disney. In fact, if you think about popular fairy tales that have been made into films you're more than likely to think of the House of Mouse. With its latest release, Enchanted, Disney has added an instant classic to its library.

The opening of the movie suggests that the film is going to be just another animated fairy tale. However, it ends up being something quite different indeed. The story opens in the fairy tale land of Andalasia.Giselle (Amy Adams) is a charming young woman who has fallen in love with Prince Edward (James Marsden). Once Edward meets Giselle he also falls in love much to the consternation of his evil stepmother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon). They immediately decide to get married since that's how things happen in fairy tales. As Giselle arrives at the church for the ceremony, she is intercepted by Narissa who is disguised as an old hag. Narissa encourages her to make a wish at the magical wishing well and as Giselle leans over Narissa pushes her end sending her to the "place where there are no happily ever afters": New York.

Giselle arrives in New York by climbing up through the sewer and is immediately confronted with a world that is vastly different than her fairy tale world. She soon encounters Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey), a divorced single father who is also a divorce lawyer. Robert does not believe in fairy tale romance and does not hesitate to say so. Giselle is still very naive at first about the ways of the real world. But as Robert and Giselle spend more time together each begins to learn a little more about real love from the other.

Meanwhile, Edward has followed Giselle to New York in an attempt to rescue her and return her to Andalasia. Narissa, wanting to be sure that Edward does not succeed, sends Nathaniel (Timothy Spall) her assistant, to follow him and make sure that they don't have the chance to rekindle the romance. Will Edward and Giselle be reunited? Will they discover that their love is true love or something entirely different?

Although the film follows a typical fairly tale plot it also turns the genre on its head with the soon-to-be princess Giselle having to cope with life in New York. Along the way there are subtle references to previous Disney classics that provide added enjoyment for fans of the animated classics.

The film works in large part because of the fantastic performances of Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and James Marsden. Ms. Adams is perfectly cast as the lovely Giselle. Early in the film she perfectly captures Giselle's naivete when she first arrives in New York. She honestly believes that life should be lived like a fairy tale and that "happily ever after" isn't just a dream, it's a reality. She's a stark contrast to Patrick Dempsey's Robert who sees only the dark side of relationships. He's skeptical that true love that lasts is possible. It takes Giselle to show him what's really possible. James Marsden is a wonderfully dense, self-absorbed hero who is smitten with Giselle but doesn't have enough of an idea of what true love really looks like to know whether what he feels is real.

Another bright spot in the movie is the wonderful soundtrack composed by Disney veterans Alan Mencken and Stephen Schwartz. They have come up with songs that are reminiscent of show-stopping tunes from previous Disney films.

The filmmakers also chose to not taking some available shortcuts and create more elaborately choreographed moments that add to the charm of the film. For example, in the early part of the movie Giselle decides to help out Robert by cleaning his apartment. In a sequence reminiscent of "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves she calls upon the animals of the city (pigeons, rats, and even cockroaches) to help her clean up while singing the "Happy Working Song". The sequence could have easily been done entirely through computer-generated creatures but the producers decided to include live animals in the sequence. As a result, it's a more realistic shot and is far more believable to the viewer.

Another great moment occurs a little later in the film when Giselle is trying to help Robert express how he feels to his current girlfriend. She provides her advice through a rousing song "How Will You Know" that is an elaborate song-and-dance sequence filmed through Central Park with over 100 professional dancers.

The bonus features include great behind-the-scenes looks into how the different effects were achieved. They also show the great care that was taken in crafting the production to make sure that it's a fitting tribute to Disney's fairy tale legacy. The Blu Ray disc has an added feature: a pop-up guide to the cinematic references throughout the film.

With Enchanted, Disney has done only what they could really do: pay tribute to their fairy tale legacy while at the same time gently poking fun at the conventions of the genre. With stellar performances from the entire cast and an uncompromising production design, they've outdone themselves. Enchanted is sure to be another Disney classic.

This article originally appeared at Blogcritics.

Baseball Quote of the Week - Opening Day Edition

Do you know what we get to do today, Brooks? We get to play baseball.


- Jimmy Morris (Dennis Quaid) in The Rookie

Baseball is back.

99 Years and Counting...

Monday marks Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs 100th season since their last World Series championship. To mark the occasion, ESPN recaps 99 years of Cubs' futility.

Maybe this is the year. Maybe.

Book Review/Interview: Steel Trapp - The Challenge by Ridley Pearson

Ridley Pearson long ago established himself as one of the premier writers of adult crime novels. His latest book, Steel Trapp: The Challenge, however, is his first foray into crime novels for young adults. As he explained in a recent interview, this book was originally intended to be another adult thriller.

"It started as an adult crime thriller and had at its center a young boy of 14. I wronte the whole novel as an adult novel," said Mr. Pearson. "In working out what I wrote next for my adult publisher it became apparent I wasn't going to use this book. My assistant at the time, Louise Marsh, who was always the first to read my material before any of this career kind of thing came up [writing books for kids] said, 'Hey, are you totally sure this should be an adult novel? I'm totally loving the kid in this book. Maybe it should be one of your kid books.' And I kept saying this is a Roland Larson book [the U. S. Marshall from Cut and Run]. As time went on I realized that she was right and I went back and recast the book with the kid as the focal point of the book and sort of turned down the volume on the Roland Larson parts."

The kid is Stephen "Steel" Trapp, a brilliant boy of 14 who is blessed (or cursed depending on how you look at it) with a photographic memory. While on a train to Washington, D. C. to compete in the National Science Challenge, he sees a woman get on the train with a briefcase. Later, when the woman leaves the train in Chicago, she leaves behind the briefcase. Stephen takes the briefcase to her but she insists it isn't her even though Stephen is absolutely sure he remembers her bringing it on the train. His attempt to be a Good Samaritan immediately backfires as he becomes entangled in a kidnapping and terrorism plot and puts himself in mortal danger. With the assistance of Roland Larson of the U. S. Marshalls' Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, Stephen tries to unlock the mysteries inside the briefcase and stop the sinister plan before it is too late.

Click here to listen to the interview with Ridley Pearson.

Although Stephen's photographic memory causes him to get into trouble in the beginning it also helps him discover the clues that will solve the mystery. The idea of someone who has such an ability to recall information is intriguing.

"I enjoy the idea of somebody who can't forget," said Mr. Pearson. "There is part of the human condition that is made easier by the fact we can forget. This idea that you can't let go of things whether it's your parents being mean to you or a friend being mean to you, it;s good when those things can leave your head and the fact that there's this kid and that stuff can't leave I think will make him a very complex character."

Although this is a novel written for kids, Mr. Pearson admits that his approach to writing this book is not much different from his approach to writing his adult crime novels.

"There really isn't much difference in writing for young adults and adults. It's fun for me because at its base it's all storytelling. I don't try to pull any punches. I don't try to write down to the kids. If they don't get a word then as my dad used to say, 'Look it up!'. You can go to a disctionary and figure out what a word means. I just try to write a story that I would want to read."

Although this is a book primarily about a kid, fans of Mr. Pearson's adult crime thrillers will find great enjoyment in it as well. This is because Mr. Pearson has not only crafted a tightly plotted story but has also incorporated extensive research into this book which has been one of the hallmarks of his previous novels.

"The job of a novelist is to suspend a reader's disbelief. I don't want you disbelieving what I'm writing because I'm making up a world anyway and if you start disbelieving it I failed and you're likely to throw the book across the room and pick another one off the shelf."

"Early on in my novel writing, I realized one of the helpful aids would be to craft the books mostly out of fact and bend them to my needs when I need the fiction to take over. So I do an awful lot of research to build a bed in the book of fact that it's standing on. So you're not going to disbelieve it because it's true and when I hit areas where I have to shrink the time or make someone unusual I can do that because hopefully I've sold you with enough fact that you don't then doubt my fiction."

"For Steel Trapp, I interviewed a U. S. Marshall to find out about how they do fugitive apprehension. They have a thing called the Fugitive Apprehension Task Force that is part of the Justice Department. These guys chase down people who have escaped from prison, the people who are the mose threat to society. There are only 4 or 5 of these guys. But they are the elite of the elite. Roland Larson is one of these guys."

With Steel Trapp: The Challenge, Ridley Pearson has done a terrific job of creating an intriguing yet unlikely hero in Stephen Trapp. Judging by the speed with which our family devoured the book I think it's safe to say that Mr. Pearson has another hit on his hands. He also says he plans to write more about this kid as he's already well into writing a second novel about him. Hopefully there will be many more such adventures to come.

This article originially appeared at Blogcritics.

Baseball Quote of the Week

Only a few more days until the new season starts. I can hardly wait. As I'm reading a couple of baseball history books at the moment, this quote seemed appropriate:

The strongest thing that baseball has going for it today are its yesterdays.

~Lawrence Ritter, author of The Glory of Their Times, one of the best oral histories of baseball ever published.

Barack Obama's Church Problem Isn't Going Away

Over at The Point, Anne Morse takes a look at Mark Steyn's latest column and then offers an astute observation about why Barack Obama's failure to either confront Reverend Wright over comments the Senator found disturbing or ultimately leave the church will continue to plague him as the campaign wears on:

I can tell you as a life-long believer---ignoring even one instance of craziness from the pulpit is not normal Protestant behavior. We're too concerned with the truth--or at least, what we believe to be the truth. That's why we Protestants have about 9 million denominations: A minister said something we thought was nuts, and so off we went to start a new church.

That Obama did none of the above--and that he seems to have trouble ever
admitting he was wrong about anything--is troubling.

Indeed.

Baseball Quote of the Week

Given the discussions this week about race and politics, this quote seemed particularly appropriate:

A game of great charm in the adoption of mathematical measurements to the timing of human movements, the exactitudes and adjustments of physical ability to hazardous chance. The speed of the legs, the dexterity of the body, the grace of the swing, the elusiveness of the slide - these are the features that make Americans everywhere forget the last syllable of a man's last name or the pigmentation of his skin. ~Branch Rickey

Have a great weekend.

Barack Obama and His Church

Much has been said about Barack Obama's relationship with his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The controversy forced the senator to address his relationship with his pastor today in a major speech. More troubling, however, is the theology of his church and as Joe Carter points out, is the more important point.

By continuing to maintain membership in the church for nearly 20 years, Senator Obama is in effect expressing agreement with its theology. Senator Obama may hope that he's put the controversy to rest with today's speech. But there's much more to the story that needs to be explored and the Senator has a lot more explaining to do. How he handles those questions in the coming weeks will speak volumes about whether he's ready to lead this country as its President.

UPDATE: Over at the Townhall blog, Carol Platt Liebau suggests that Senator Obama joined the church in order to develop a political base and is hesitant to leave now for fear of the damage that could be caused by his departure from the congregation. Her concluding paragraph nails the issue:

Whatever the reason, here's why this is so hard to explain away. Whether the vitriolic anti-American remarks were simply insufficiently offensive to Barack, or whether they were offensive but outweighed by personal political considerations, there's simply no justification for them. Ultimately, the whole messy episode does either his judgment or else his character no credit. And there's no spinning that away.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Carol posts again and points to this post by Jim Geraghty raising the point that if Rev. Wright's statements were so troubling then why did he continue to expose his daughters to the Reverend's teachings?

DVD Review: The Complete Jeeves and Wooster

If you were to take a poll of the funniest British televsion comedies of all time, Jeeves and Wooster would likely receive a fair share of votes. In my mind, this is probably the funniest comedy I've ever seen. Not only that, but the series remains funny no matter how many times I watch it.

Based on the characters created by legendary British humorist P. G. Wodehouse, the series follows the adventures of Bertie Wooster (Hugh Laurie), a rich young playboy living in 1920's London who has too much time on his hands and an affinity for getting caught up in various sorts of relational predicaments involving friends and family.

In the opening episode, Bertie has had a wild night on the town and ends up hauled off to court to face charges of stealing a policeman's helmet. After paying the fine (and still rather hung over), he returns home only to be rudely awakened by Jeeves (Stephen Fry) who is the new valet sent by the agency to attend to Bertie's needs. Jeeves revives Bertie with a secret recipe hangover cure and is immediately hired. It turns out to be a fortunate decision as Bertie immediately manages to get himself tangled up in an engagement that he doesn't want any part of. Fortunately Jeeves manages to come up with a scheme to extricate Bertie just in the nick of time. Future episodes involve similar precarious circumstances and it will be Jeeves that will come to Bertie's rescue.

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are the perfect choice to play their respective roles. They are great friends and have a very natural chemistry which is absolutely necessary to make the stories work. The scripts are adapted mostly from Wodehouse's numerous short stories and are, for the most part, faithful to the original material. The only major deviation from the source material is to give Bertie Wooster the ability to sing and play the piano which allows Hugh Laurie to show off his musical talents through numerous performances of several comic tunes.
There is also a host of wonderful supporting characters to round out the cast. Unfortunately, the same actors were not always used for the same roles as the series develops causing a little confusion.

But it's all wonderful escapism, a portrait of an England (and America) that never really quite existed except in our imaginations. It's the kind of show you can never get tired of watching. You just wish by the time you reached the end of the series that there was more to come. Unfortunately, there's only 23 episodes. We can hold out hope, can't we?

The Complete Jeeves and Wooster is available from the A&E Store.

Quick Takes 3-14-08

It's Friday and time for another weekly roundup of links of interest:

How hard can it really be? An eight year-old Brazilian boy has been admitted to law school. Insert your favorite lawyer joke here. (hat tip: Megan McArdle)

DVD Review of the week. Check out my review of 101 Dalmatians at Blogcritics.

Elders in the local church. Tim Ellsworth has some words of wisdom on the role of elders in the church.

Health insurance isn't really insurance. Health insurance as we've come to know it is more of a gigantic exercise in cost-shifting rather than pure insurance. This is one of the best explanations why that is the case I have ever read (and I've worked in insurance for nearly twenty years). It's something to keep in mind as we hear politicians discuss huge government "fixes" to the "health care crisis".

Recommended reading. I just finished Mark Frost's excellent book The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever. What began as a simple bet between two friends turned into one of the classic battles of all time. Even if you're not a fan of golf, you'll still find plenty to enjoy in this book.

Homeschool tip of the week: What you can learn about writing from Legos.


Curse less and make more money. A study of PG rated movies shows those that had less profanity did better at the box office.

Trying to squelch March Madness. CBS is streaming all of the games for this year's Men's NCAA basketball tournament on their website but some businesses are cracking down on workers who are trying to watch the tournament during business hours.


Don't try this during a job interview. Careerbuilder.com has released a survey of the wackiest mistakes made during job interviews. My personal favorite was the candidate that refused to give a writing sample beacuse all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was "classified".


Eat your vegetables. A review of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. The recipes may seem a little odd at first but we've liked what we have taste-tested so far.


Barbecue Blogging. Here's the right way to make barbecue. By the way, I've never eaten at Stamey's but will certainly try it the next time I'm in the neighborhood. Looks like they make their barbecue the way it should be done. (Hat tip: Instapundit)


Perfect Season. Considering all they have dealt with this year with the devastating tornadoes, the achievement of the Union University Lady Bulldogs is even more remarkable. Their women's basketball team finished the season undefeated as they head into the NAIA tournament next week. (Hat tip: Tim Ellsworth)

Coming Next Week....A review of the brand new book Steel Trapp: The Challenge and (in our inaugural podcast) an interview with the author, Ridley Pearson.

Have a great weekend.

Baseball Quote of the Week

The trouble with baseball is that it is not played the year round. - Gaylord Perry

Only 17 more days until Opening Day. Baseball will be back soon.

DVD Review: The History Channel's Pearl Harbor

It was one of the darkest days in American history: December 7, 1941, the Japanese surprise attack on the U. S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor woke the sleeping giant of the United States armed forces and brought America into World War II. It would bring the nation into a war it had long tried to avoid (and ignore).

In this documentary, The History Channel explores the events that led up to Japan's attack on the U. S. Veterans of both sides are interviewed and offer their perspective on the attack and the larger role that the battle would play in each nation's war effort.

Many theories have circulated for years that the U. S. government had advance knowledge of the attack and that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had allowed the attack to occur in order to allow the U. S. to be drawn into the war. These theories are dealt with in detail and quickly dismissed as the true facts surrounding the attacks are revealed.

The filmmakers also spend a great deal of time focusing on the stories of those who survived the attack. Both U. S. and Japanese veterans are interviewed. Perhaps surprising is the Japanese pilots that admit they didn't think it was a good idea for them to attack the U. S. One of the best quotes from the veterans was from John Finn who won a Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor demonstrated during the attack. When asked how he survived he simply said "It just wasn't my day to die". In this simple statement, Finn demonstrates the humility of many of the World War II veterans.

The second disc of the set includes a documentary of Admiral Chester Nimitz who was named Commander of the Pacific fleet shortly after the attack occurred. As the film shows, Nimitz almost single-handedly rebuilt the Pacific fleet into a lethal fighting force. Nimitz's tactics help secure a swift victory in the Pacific theater that was unthinkable in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.

This documentary reminds us even in a post-9/11 world that there are dangers in ignoring events taking place around us that can put our security in peril. John F. DeVirgillo, the Hawaii Director of the Pearl Harbor Association summed it up this way: "You must remember Pearl Harbor. It is a lesson of being complacent. Don't let individualism blind you. We still need to think of the country as a whole. You must always be prepared. If you're not prepared, you'll pay in blood."


The History Channel's Pearl Harbor is available from the History Channel Store.

Democrats, Do Overs, and Disenfranchisement

These are tough times to be a Democrat. After months of battling through primaries and caucuses, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are practically deadlocked in the race for their party's presidential nomination. Even though several states are still slated to hold their primaries they aren't going to ultimately decide who the nominee will be. That decision will be made by 796 "superdelegates" who are party officials who will ultimately select the nominee. Never before has the Democratic party had to rely on these unelected delegates to decide a nomination. This was the year the Democrats were supposed to win back the White House. Now, it looks like the party may implode before they can select a nominee.

To make matters worse, Senator John McCain has already wrapped up the Republican nomination which means he can focus on the general election and raise a boatload of campaign cash.

The question now facing Democrats in how to bring their nomination process to a peaceful end. Unfortunately for them, no one has a good solution.

The Democrats didn't arrive in this position overnight. Rather, decisions that were made months ago have had a profound effect on the nomination process.

First, the primary schedule was compressed in the hopes that a nominee could be selected quickly. Instead of allowing the primaries to occur over a period of, say, five or six months, they were bunched up together at the front end of the election schedule. So about 75% of the elected delegates have already been chosen but neither candidate can mathematically obtain the magic number to secure the nomination.

Part of the reason the race is so close is because Barack Obama has turned out to be a much more formidable candidate than anyone had imagined. This was supposed to be the year Hillary Clinton would finally get the opportunity to run for the White House. But all through the campaign she's been struggling to defeat Senator Obama. Her campaign has seemed perpetually off balance as if it was never ready to face such a stiff challenge. It's also interesting to note that Senator Obama had declared her candidacy before Senator Clinton did which in effect pushed her into the campaign before she really seemed ready to jump into the fray.

Then there's the problem of Michigan and Florida. Party rules stated that Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina would all vote first (in that order). Both Michigan and Florida wanted to have a bigger role in the nomination process so they moved up their primaries. The Democratic National Committee responded by basically saying they could not seat delegates at the convention since they broke the rules. Now the DNC has a huge problem on its hands. Because the race is so close, they can't afford to not seat delegations from those two states. However, even the states' delegations are not large enough to secure the nomination for Senators Clinton or Obama without the intervention of the superdelegates.

There is also the fact that all of the primaries and caucuses apportion delegates among the candidates proportionally based on the percentage of the votes each candidate receives or by congressional district or some similarly convoluted mathematical formula. As a result, a candidate can score a huge win in a primary or caucus (as Senator Obama did yesterday in Mississippi) and yet it can have a negligible effect on the overall delegate count.

So now Democrats find themselves in a thoroughly uncomfortable position. Their nominee will ultimately be selected by the party's elite, unelected delegates rather than by the millions of voters who turned out in during the primary season. Depending on which way they go, they run the risk of alienating a huge portion of their base. They could potentially disenfranchise millions of voters (particularly if they cannot resolve the Michigan/Florida problem). It's rather ironic that the same party that since 2000 has routine accused Republicans of disenfranchising voters may do the same to their own base. How they solve these issues in selecting their nominee could mean the difference between a huge victory in November and utter self-destruction.

Chuck Norris on Homeschooling

Actor Chuck Norris weighs in on last week's court ruling in California with his own thoughts on homeschooling. An excerpt:

The reason government courts are cracking down on private instruction has more to do with suppressing alternative education than improving educational standards. The rationale is quite simple, though rarely, if ever, stated. If one wants to control the future ebbs and flows of a country, one must have command over future generations. This is done by seizing parental and educational power, legislating preferred educational materials, and limiting private educational options. It is so simple any socialist can understand it. As Josef Stalin once stated: "Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."

Read the whole thing.

Quick Takes - 3-7-08

It's Friday and time for another roundup of random links for your weekend enjoyment. Thanks again this week to my lovely wife who did most of the research.

This is a club I could easily join. It's the No Cussing Club.

Be careful what you aim at. A golfer is charged with killing a hawk. As a side note, this reminds me of the time I was playing golf near Chicago and one of my playing partners nailed a Canadian goose in the back with his shot (not on purpose). It just goes to show that there is no telling what obstacles you may encounter on the course.

A second career in golf? Golf ball diving.


Fire the youth pastor. So says pastor and author Voddie Baucham on Family Life Today. Instead, fathers take the lead for discipling their children. (Hat tip: Stones Cry Out)


Say it ain't so. The new owner of the Chicago Cubs is considering selling naming rights to Wrigley Field. Some things are better left alone and this is one of them.

An "A" for effort. A Minnesota bar tries (and fails) to get around a local smoking ban.


Book of the week (part 1). The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes reveals that FDR's policies did more to worsen the economic crisis of the 1930s than to improve it. It also shows that FDR's policies and beliefs were not all that most of us had been taught through sanitized history classes in school.

Job loyalty personified. A Lexington, VA man retires after nearly 35 years working for Kroger. It says something about his contentment in his job to do the same thing for so long.

More than he bargained for. A tourist's Australian Outback vacation included a close encounter with a crocodile.

Dying is against the law. And the mayor has promised "severe punishment" for those who disobey. I wonder what that means?


Book of the week (part 2). Personal Faith, Public Policy by Harry R. Jackson, Jr. and Tony Perkins confronts the issue of applying a biblical worldview to our current public policy crises. This looks like a book whose time has come.

Tackling political humor. Comic book legend Stan Lee's newest venture.

Still going strong at 100. Age hasn't slowed this woman down. Good for her.


World War I Veteran honored. Frank Buckles is the last known U. S. military veteran from World War I. Yesterday, he was honored with a visit with President Bush at the White House. Buckles is 107 years young.


Dumb Criminals of the week. Two guys in cowboy gear stole doughnuts from a local bakery and when the sheriff's deputies showed up to arrest them they tried to bribe the officers with the stolen goods!

Have a great weekend.

Baseball Quote of the Week

I couldn't see well enough to play when I was a boy, so they gave me a special job: They made me an umpire.

Harry S. Truman

John McCain: A True Hero

Say what you will about his political positions, there is no doubt in my mind after watching this video that John McCain is a true hero.

Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt

New DVD Reviews at Blogcritics

Here's a roundup of my recent DVD reviews over at Blogcritics:

The Aristocats
The classic animated feature about a family of felines living in 1900 Paris. This is the last movie that Walt Disney personally supervised. It's also the last movie to be scored by the Sherman Brothers during their initial run as part of the Disney family.

Becoming Jane
Anne Hathaway stars in this biopic about novelist Jane Austen. Although rated PG it really should have been a PG-13 given some of its mature content. It's also been criticized for playing a little loose with the truth. Still, Ms. Hathaway shines as Austen.

Persuasion
A brand new adaptation of Jane Austen's last completed novel which recently aired here in the United States on PBS. Sally Hawkins makes her mark as Anne Elliott and adds a classy performance to the long history of Austen heroines.